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Island Politics
Councilman Roy Marlin Says he is Flabbergasted with Leader of Government Statements.
SMNN -
Philipsburg:----Flabbergasted was the reaction of Island Councilman Roy Marlin on the statement made by the leader of Government Commissioner William Marlin on the matter of the Democratic Party faction in the Island Council asking questions. The Commissioner when in opposition lived by the motto the people have a right to know. Or do the people only have a right to know when the National Alliance is in opposition and when they are in government then the people have no rights. On the matter of the cooperation kingdom law that was discussed in the central committee meeting of Thursday, several administrative areas will require a plan of approach after 10/10/10. [More....]
Electricity ordinance approved, GEBE concession should follow
PHILIPSBURG--The Governor of the Netherlands Antilles has approved the Island Ordinance on Electricity, paving the way for GEBE to obtain its concession from the Island Government. GEBE's annual concession will be set at NAf. 5 million. Commissioner in charge of public utilities Theo Heyliger confirmed the approval Thursday and said the ordinance should be on the agenda of the next meeting of the Central Committee, hopefully next week. Once the ordinance is approved, he said, the concession should follow fairly quickly.[More....]
Amount projected from back taxes not collectable
The Daily Herald - ~ Exco reportedly had faulty figures ~
PHILIPSBURG--The NAf. 24.3 million projected by the Executive Council to fill the deficit in the 2010 budget through the collection of back taxes is not collectable.
The Daily Herald has learned that Commissioner of Finance Xavier Blackman has reports indicating that only NAf. 2.5 million can be collected for the period 2004-2007. The Commissioner had indicated that NAf. 14.4 million could be collected this year. Also, only NAf. 90,000 can be collected from 2008, not NAf. 4 million as was mentioned by the commissioner.
Govt to seek Dutch help to set up Audit Chamber
The Daily Herald - PHILIPSBURG--The General Audit Chamber is one of the key institutions that have to be in place for country St. Maarten, scheduled to be born on October 10.
The National Alliance (NA)-led government continues to seek support from the Dutch with setting up some vital institutions. Government has maintained since taking office in June 2009 that, unlike Curaçao, St. Maarten will need all the help it can get. Curaçao will inherit much of the Central Government framework and infrastructure, while St. Maarten has to build its own from scratch.
Monitoring committee to oversee tasks, plan
PHILIPSBURG--A committee that will include a St. Maarten Government minister and the Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations (currently Ank Bijleveld-Schouten) will monitor tasks St. Maarten cannot perform fully when it becomes a country. This committee will also ensure that plans of approach formulated by St. Maarten to improve areas such as Justice and Finance are carried out. The monitoring committee will be in place for two years, with an extension of two more years if this becomes necessary.[More....]
Bill O'Reilly finally gets something right.
Laviest Blast Government for Lack of Democracy--- IC Meetings Must be Televised
SMNN - Philipsburg: --- Independent island council member Louie Laveist fired up on Wednesday when he realized the island council meeting was not broadcasting live on cable Television channel 15 or 20.
Laveist had sent in a notification to the island secretariat stating that he would not be attending the meeting but showed up after he was not able to follow the proceeding on television. Laveist made clear that he was not pointing fingers at anyone for the technical difficulties encountered but cautioned that democracy must be upheld and the people has every right to know what is taking place in government during these critical days when country status is being finalized.
Second Motion of Non Confidence Filed Against Blackman--- Constantly Traveling—Has Priorities Set Wrong ---Says Leroy.
SMNN - Philipsburg: --- Island Council member Petrus Leroy De Weever tabled a second motion of non-confidence against finance commissioner Xavier Blackman on Wednesday during the island council meeting called by the Democratic Party.
De Weever said leader of government William Marlin has given Blackman a motion of no confidence when he publicly announced on Tuesday that he had to seek assistance from outside with the 2010 budget so that it could be approved by the CFT. De Weever said St. Maarten is confronted with a level of incompetence in Blackman who is constantly traveling overseas. He said Blackman needs to assume his responsibilities and not look for scapegoats or people to blame for his failure. He felt with the motion of non-confidence against Blackman would end the blame game against the civil servants especially those in the finance department.
Atacho confident that Dutch Chamber will approve Consensus Kingdom Laws
SXM Island Times - PHILIPSBURG - Today, the Dutch Second Chamber will begin debating the Consensus Kingdom Laws in the presence of a special committee comprising members of the Netherlands Antilles parliament, the commissioners of constitutional affairs of the various islands and a group from Aruba.
Head of the Antillean delegation and president of parliament, Pedro Atacho commended the special delegation of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba for doing a good job in the preparatory meetings leading up to Monday's session of questioning in the Chamber.
EXCO APPROVES TRANSITION APPROACH FOR NEW MINISTRY OF TOURISM, ECONOMY, TRAFFIC AND COMMUNICATIONS
SMNN -
GREAT BAY:--- St. Maarten's Executive Council on Tuesday approved proposals for the transition approach regarding tasks for the new ministry of tourism, economic affairs, traffic and telecommunications for country St. Maarten. The Executive Council also approved an overview provided of the transfer of legislation by the Netherlands Antilles to the new ministry as well as the terms of the required legislation, Central Government tasks, policy, work instructions and procedures per department of the new ministry.[More....]
